High FODMAP
Avoid during elimination. Save for a structured reintroduction challenge.
Safe serving
No safe serving during elimination
FODMAP group responsible
- Fructans — Oligosaccharides. Wheat, onion, garlic. The most common trigger and the hardest to avoid.
Why
Couscous is wheat pasta in granular form, not a separate grain, so it carries the same fructan load. Quinoa and rice both fill the same role on a plate without any of the arithmetic.
What to use instead
Quinoa
Low FODMAP at a full cup cooked and visually very similar in a salad.
Recipes using couscous
Mediterranean Quinoa Lunch Bowl
Built on a Sunday, eaten Monday to Thursday. The recipe that solves the packed-lunch problem without another sad plain-rice container.
- Elimination
- Reintroduction
- Maintenance
This entry is compiled from published Monash-aligned guidance rather than our own laboratory testing, and thresholds are revised as new data arrives. For the elimination phase the Monash app is the authority. See the full food list for how the categories fit together, orcheck another food.
Low-FODMAP Elimination Phase Starter Kit
A 14-page PDF: the full safe-foods list, a two-week meal plan, a printable symptom tracker and a shopping checklist you can take to the store.